Ignorance is Bliss
by Rift-Raft
Summary: Zelda: Twilight Princess oneshot. What if Talo saw Link transport into Kakariko Village?


**This is a Zelda: Twilight Princess short that I thought of yesterday. Wrote it in about an hour, too lazy to fix the mistakes. xD I might make a continuation of this later.**

**I've always wondered: how in the world does Talo miss Link every time he transports to Kakariko Village? I mean, Midna never lets you turn into a human in the spot you appear and you have to walk towards the spring to 'stay out of sight'. If you accidentally step backwards, Talo calls the alarm and you have to leave.**

**So this is a 'what if' drabble. What if Talo actually saw Link teleport to the village?**

**For those of you wondering, I'm still working on IHHS. I've been kind-of busy lately, but I wanted to upload /something/. I've got the fourth chapter done, though, but I'm still editing it with my beta.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.**

Talo had always wanted to be helpful. That's why he asked Link for help with weaponry time and time again. If he knew how to fight, he could help his family and friends fight against monsters! He'd be the best monster-slayer in all of Hyrule! He'd never be scolded for staying up past his bedtime, or for teasing Colin, or for…

…or for running off into the woods…

A sudden wave of homesickness rushed over the young 10-year-old. Talo had never wanted to _hurt_ anyone. He'd just wanted to prove himself by catching that monkey and actually _doing_ something instead of begging Link to show him how to, say, swing a sword. Of course, heroic, perfect, extraordinary Link had come and saved the day with hardly a scratch when Talo had been kidnapped.

When Talo had asked how he'd done it, Link had just shrugged unhelpfully, given him a kind smile, and said, "I've had practice."

Talo had misinterpreted that as advice, and had begged his father for a sword. At the immediate 'no', he'd ran off in a fit of anger and had sat himself down by Link's house, hiding behind the giant treehouse to sulk.

It was then that the monsters came.

They came in a pack of four. Two ran down into the village, and two stayed outside Link's house.

Talo had frozen in fear for several seconds. He only snapped out of it when the two monsters began to follow their evil comrades down towards the village. He still remembered the blood-curdling screams that had echoed off the walls.

_I can help!_ Talo had thought. _Link showed me how to fight!_

He'd acted recklessly. Talo had picked up a measly stick sitting besides him, leaped to his feet, and ran towards the demons with a loud battle cry. He'd managed to hit one upside the head and slam his foot down on the thing's freakishly-long foot before a sudden, splitting pain had erupted in the back of his head.

Talo's last thought before he passed out was, _"Did I win?"_

His memories after that were blurred and confusing. He remembered being with Colin, Malo, and Beth, and being saved by the Shaman. But all the memories were off, as if someone had taken a picture and immediately covered it in water. They were foggy, the brights were exaggerated, and the darks were endless depths of black. There seemed to be a sickly yellow sheen over all of them.

Over time, Talo would forget these memories as they were, and his mind would unconsciously fill them in as they should be. But for now, while he was still young and they memories were fresh, he would remember as they had actually happened.

The strangest thing was that those far-off, distant, unnatural memories returned to normal shortly before Link's appearance in the village.

Seeing Link's strong, brave appearance, and how old he looked made Talo more determined than ever to be just like him. Even without Link, he could learn how to really fight. He could be the bravest soldier in Kakariko Village!

The Shaman wouldn't allow that, unfortunately. Instead, he'd said, "Talo, being able to see the monsters before they come is just as important as fighting them. How about you watch for them? With you as our outpost-soldier, we would never be caught unawares again."

Brimming with excitement and confidence at being called a soldier, Talo had immediately done as he was told, never thinking in the slightest bit that the Shaman was manipulating him.

It was a warm day, the skies were clear, and the cool breeze made the outpost the perfect spot to be.

Talo stretched his arms and leaned back, watching the villagers below. They looked like little ants. But not for long…

With an ear-wide grin, the young boy reached into his pocket and pulled something Malo called the 'Eagle Eye'. It allowed the wearer to zoom in on things that were far away and see them in perfect detail! It was so cool! He was sure Malo wouldn't mind if it just…_disappeared_ for a day.

Talo's mouth all but hit the floor in amazement when he turned the device on. He could see _everything!_ He zoomed in on Beth, giggling as he watched her jump to and fro to avoid an insect of some sort. He saw her open her mouth and shriek. A few seconds later, the loud cry echoed faintly off the cliffs around him.

Talo moved the Eagle Eye elsewhere. A couple of Cuckoos were pecking at the ground together, the Shaman was wandering about the main road, and several Gorons were relaxing in the hot spring.

_Hey, I bet the spirit's spring looks really cool!_ The 10-year-old thought excitedly, quickly trying to zoom in on the holy lake. As he turned, though, he fell back a few steps, and ended up staring straight up into the sky.

And what a surprise he got.

At first, Talo thought it was a bird. There was something in the middle of the sky, pitch-black in color. But his first thought was quickly sketched out with the _thing_ in the sky stayed in the exact same position. Confused, Talo zoomed in on it to its full extent. He gasped and nearly fell back in shock.

_That's definitely not a bird!_

Whatever _it_ was, it was downright _weird!_ It was impossibly flat and diamondlike in shape, its edges rough, like several tiny squares had been placed on top of each other. Several more squares of equal sizes spread out from the four arms of the _thing_. But what was strangest was the blue-green swirl on the inside that went up in a point parallel to the flat opening and disappeared into thin air.

"What is that?" Talo mumbled, tensing. He immediately regretted deciding not to bring the pocketknife he'd acquired from one of the Gorons up with him. What if it was something bad? He was no use without a weapon!

Talo was about to shut the Eagle Eye off, but movement from inside the _thing_ stopped him. The swirl on the inside suddenly glowed brightly, bursting into life like nothing he'd ever seen.

And then, to Talo's horror, _squares_ came swirling out of it, zooming towards the ground. By then, he'd decided it was a monster's trick. But the young boy was too shocked to call out to the others, and his numbed mind could only watch as the squares met on the ground and formed a shape as dark as the night sky and as evil as every monster in Hyrule combined.

The blackness slowly fell away, and a large canine appeared in its place. It's shockingly-familiar eyes looked behind it, and Talo was surprised to see what looked like a little person on its back. Her skin, with its unnatural colors and markings, made it quickly apparent that she was of the same kin as the monster.

_The beast! And it brought a friend! I have to help!_

Again, Talo began to go through the procedure of shutting the Eagle Eye off. And for the second time, he was stopped.

The beast's friend suddenly leaped off of its back and sank into the ground as if it were water. The beast crouched, its smelly fur turning black again. And then, it _grew._

It rose up on two legs, its tail shrank into its body, its muzzle disappeared, and a frightening shape took the form of the beast: a human.

The humanlike shape's color slowly returned to it. Link rubbed his eyes and winced slightly. Blinking several times, he began to walk into the village, a calm smile spreading across his face when Beth and Colin ran up to him in greeting. The three stopped in the middle of the road, all of them slouching, and started to have a friendly conversation.

Talo dropped the Eagle Eye.

"_Link?_"

* * *

Link waved goodbye to Beth and Colin as they retreated into Renado's house. They were going to check on Ilia. The young hero had promised to check in on her, too, but first he wanted to see if anything new had come up. He frowned at the thought of the task he had on hand, painfully aware of his procrastination.

The odd sound of Midna flying out of his shadow was followed by the imp's impatient huff. She crossed her arms and fixed Link with an impatient glare with her eye.

"Come on! I don't care if you want to donate to the stupid bridge thing! We can just _teleport_ over it, idiot!"

Link rolled his eyes. "Touchy, touchy," he commented. "And that bridge needs fixing. Plus, I seem to be the only one donating."

"Right, because fixing a bridge is much more important than finding the Mirror of Twilight. Oh, and apparently kayaking, fishing, and wandering through Castle Town are, too!" Midna slapped him lightly in the shoulder. "Get a move on!"

"Am I not allowed one moment for myself?" Link asked dryly. "You haven't stopped nagging me about these sort of things since we've met. Plus, I was getting information," he added. Both knew that the young adult was lying.

"Because if it were up to you, we'd never get anything done!" Midna exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air. "I _have_ to tell you what to do, or you'll just wander around all lost and confused. This just proves it." She shook her head as if she was disappointed.

Link raised an eyebrow in slight amusement. "How does this prove it?"

Instead of responding, Midna snapped her head to the left. Her eye widened and her form dissolved, quickly becoming one with Link's shadow. The green-clothed man frowned in confusion, glancing up in the direction his naggy companion had just been looking in.

Talo was sprinting towards Renado, fear very clear in his body language. Link's heart skipped a beat and he brought his arm back and fingered his sword warily, making sure that he'd be able to withdraw it quickly if he needed to.

Taking action, Link ran down towards the terrified boy, who was now talking to Renado, gesturing wildly and pointing up at something in the sky. When Link arrived, he grew still, his face paled, and his eyes widened.

Renado gave Link a helpless look, silently saying that he had no idea what the young boy was talking about.

"Talo," Link asked, voice full of concern. He crouched down to his friend's eye level. Maybe he'd be able to figure out what the problem was. "What's wrong?"

Talo's mouth moved, but no sounds came out. He was visibly shaking. Link quickly scanned the area for any monsters, body tensing in anticipation for a battle. To his surprise, there were no beasts around. The village looked more peaceful than ever, actually.

"Talo, young Link has asked you a question. Now, please, tell us what has bothered you," Renado spoke in his soft, raspy voice.

Talo grimaced, and shook his head. "N-n-nothing! Nothing's bothering me!" His eyes shot from the Shaman to Link, fear coloring the irises.

Heavily worried now, Link brought his arm out. "Talo, what's the matter? Why are you scared?" The hero set his gloved hand down on the boy's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Talo screamed.


End file.
